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The hunt for the most efficient heat pump in the world
(arstechnica.com)
Discussion of climate, how it is changing, activism around that, the politics, and the energy systems change we need in order to stabilize things.
As a starting point, the burning of fossil fuels, and to a lesser extent deforestation and release of methane are responsible for the warming in recent decades:
How much each change to the atmosphere has warmed the world:
Recommended actions to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the near future:
Anti-science, inactivism, and unsupported conspiracy theories are not ok here.
I own one. It's mounted in the wall not in a window but it's a unit that can be used either way. We have central heat and A/C but our heat is a gas furnace. We have an addition that wasn't on the central system and that's why we have the wall unit heat pump/AC. It works pretty well as long as it isn't bitter cold outside (-20 C/ -4F isn't too rare). Also that addition has terrible insulation. (edit to add that the addition also has an ancient gas heater built into one of the walls but it hasn't been used in decades. It has been tested though, it still works but it is scary.)
So I'm pretty happy with that heat pump and it is probably much more efficient than a space heater. But if I was really broke and just trying to survive a hot spell or a cold snap I'd more likely buy a $180 AC unit and a $20 space heater unfortunately.